Regret
by Mistran
Summary: Kale Lorell, a Rebel Agent from Naboo, is tasked with tracking down an Imperial General. However, someone within the Empire is also working on taking down Kale.
1. The Lorell Farm

The sun was setting down behind the lush green grass plains of Naboo. The Lorell Farm had just undergone a major renovation, and was now housing all three family members. Kale Lorell, the youngest son of Jored Lorell, was running around the western wall of the farm, playing with the house droid.

"Com'on, Master Lorell. You can catch me!" D6-Derek teased as it speeded past Kale, hovering a few feet above the ground.

Kale, still trying to catch D6, turned around and fell right on his face as he tripped over a rock. He looked up as he heard a voice laughing. His sister, who was seven years older than him, came over to help him up.

"You gotta be carefull when playing with Derek. He can be somewhat of a cheater" She said as they dusted off the dirt and grass, "Head inside, Kale. Cousin Cade is making Eopie stew"

They both entered the house as the rain began to pour from a cloudfree sky. His sister looked outside with a worried stare, as they closed the door to the main house.

Jored grabbed Kale and brought him into the kitchen, "Happy birthday, Kale" he said as the kitchen came into sight. A huge cake was standing on the table in the middle of the room, with several guests Kale recognized from the nearby settlements.

"Five years, eh?" Terrel, a security guard from Theed, stated as he walked over to Kale. He reached into his pocket and grabbed an amulet, "It brings luck. It at least brought me luck"

Kale stared at the amulet. It wasn't untill he turned it over he noticed a text written on the back of it. It said, _"At the gap of time, when the game seems lost, your thoughts will save you once more"_.

"Thanks", Kale mumbled and put the amulet on the table. He turned around, and noticed the rain had stopped. From the living room, his sister approached holding a datachip in her left hand.

"Last summer, i met this old man while on a trip to Theed. He didn't tell me his name, but told me to give you this" She handed it over to Kale, along with a holochip, "The Holochip is from me. You'll like it when you see it"

Later that evening, Kale was sitting on his bed with the datachip from the old man. He inserted it into his sisters datapad, and it displayed a video message.

"Happy birthday, Kale Lorell. You may not remember, or even know me at all, but i'm your grandfather. When you watch this, Seda, your sister, will likely be asleep. So i'll keep my voice down. I would have liked to deliver this personally, but the circumstances are most unfortunate", the old man looked over his shoulder.

"The Clone Army is on my trail, and i have to make this quick. In a few years, you'll have to make a hard decision. You'll understand it by then, but it's no coincidence that Terrel gave you that amulet. It's a vital part of a puzzel that you'll have to solve in..." the video cut out, and the datachip ejected.

---

"Kale? Kale! Wake up, or do i have to stun your hand again?" Terrel asked as he shook Kale.

Kale looked around, "Huh? Oh, sorry Officer. I was having that stupid dream again"

Being a Lorell, Kale was almost forced to take the job as a Security Officer in Theed. His father had been one, and he had thought his Grandfather was one too, untill his five years birthday.

"Let me review your results", Terrel took the datapad from Kale and looked at it, "Sorry Kale. You don't seem to qualify for the job. Infact, i actually believe i have another job for you. Meet me tonight outside the palace"

Shrugging, Kale picked up his stuff and left the room. Not being qualified as a Lorell was some of an insult, even though Kale didn't really care about it. He didn't even want to be a security officer. He looked up at the clock. If he took the shuttle, he could be home by midday.

Even though he had walked down the street hundreds of times, it felt different today. The Empire had decreased it's patrols around town for some reason, and the gangs were starting to appear more often in the public.

With the increased rebel activity came another worry. Rumours circulated that the accident with the Lars family on Tatooine was, in fact, the work of the Empire. Kale didn't mind the Empire patrolling Theed, but he wouldn't hesitate to kill one if they gave him a reason.

He boarded the shuttle headed for the closest shuttleport to the Lorell farm. He dropped into one of the seats and looked out the window as they lifted off and left the city of Theed.

---

The following night, Kale followed up on the offer from Terrel. He thought it couldn't hurt to at least hear what he had in mind. It couldn't be worse than spending the rest of his days as a farmboy at the Lorell farm.

Clad in a dark robe, to disguise his identity, Kale got on a speederbike and headed off to Theed. The Lorell family had a great reputation with the Empire, but if Kale was seen talking to Terrel outside the Theed palace at night, the Empire would likely become suspecious of them.

After thirty minutes of travel, Kale reached the outskirts of Theed. He parked his speederbike against the wall of a house and moved the hood up to cover his face as he made his way through the dark alleys towards the palace. He kept thinking of the consequences it could have if he was caught.

Finally the palace came into sight. It was a fantastic sight at day, but at night it had an eerie feeling over it. A feeling you'd expect from a haunted house. Kale could only make out two figures in the area. One of them obviously Terrel, the other one seemingly also wearing a robe.

"You're aware of the Rebel alliance, right?" Terrel asked and motioned towards the hooded figure.

Kale nodded, "Of course. Just a wild guess, but is your _other job_ maybe as a rebel spy?"

Terrel smiled, "You're correct. There's an empty spot in the intelligence department"

Intrigued, but still worried about the reputation of the Lorell's, Kale looked around once more. "If my father finds out-"

"Don't worry, Kale. Your father is aware of this. He was the one that asked me to fail you on the test. You may think that the Lorell's have always been a noble family, but you're wrong. Your grandfather was a Jedi Knight during the clone wars. Your Great Grandfather was a Republic General. And your own father is a high ranked spy too"

Kale nodded without hesitation, "I suppose i have no choice but to accept then. What shall i do?"

The hooded man stepped forth, "We're going to need you to infiltrate the Imperial ranks. We need to location of an AT-AT facility". He handed over a datachip before turning around and disappearing into the shadows...


	2. The Loner

The night was peaceful, and the animals were asleep all around the Lorell farm. It was a night like all the others, except this time, Kale wasn't at home. Seda opened her eyes and looked around the room. She hit the lightswitch, but nothing happened. The power station probably had a fuse, like it had done the last three nights.

She walked up the stairs to Kale's room and looked in, "Kale, i'm going to check the power station".

She didn't get a response, so she just sighed, thinking he once more had worked late and fallen asleep late. Jored was on a business trip to Coruscant, so Seda and Kale were left in charge of the farm. It was too dark for Seda to see that Kale was infact missing.

Grabbing the coat from the wall, she headed out the door and turned on the flashlight. It was unusually dark in the area, but she was able to make out the power station blinking in the distance. However, this made her confused. Had it been a fuse, the power station would have shut down to prevent any damage.

As she heard a sound, she turned around only to spot a huge shadow approaching her. She opened her mouth to scream, but not a sound came out. The shadow finally leaped at her, as she lost focus and hit the ground.

---

Kale woke up, his heart beating so hard it felt like it was about to burst through his chest. He looked around in the small room he had rented the previous night. A knock on the door made him regain focus.

A man clad in blue clothes greeted him, "Mister Lorell, there has been an incident"

"It's my sister, right?" he asked and leaned against the wall with his head in his hands as the man outside the door nodded. For some reason, ever since he was five, all his dreams had become true in one way or another. First the destruction of D6-Derek. Next the death of his fathers friend.

Closing the door, Kale walked over to his room's terminal and turned it on. Terrel appeared on it.

"I'll have to wait with the assignment. My father is coming home from Coruscant, and we'll need to arrange-"

Kale was interrupted by Terrel, "Your sisters death was no coincidence, Kale. The Empire found out i worked for the Rebellion, and realised that you must work for them too. They decided to hit us both where it hurts the most"

"What should we do? If my dad returns home, he'll just get arrested too" he dropped into the chair and looked out the window to his left.

Terrel thought for a moment. It was clear he was quite irritated by the Empire's methods and will, but he had connections the Empire didn't.

"In order to keep Jored safe, you'll have to find and eliminate General Nen'the. He's the leader of the Imperial Onyx Squad. If you kill him, they'll be vulnerable, and i'll be able to take a team and secure Jored before it's too late"

Nodding, Kale tapped a few buttons on the side of the terminal. A picture appeared side by side with the video feed of Terrel, "I'll do it".

He turned off the terminal and left the room with nothing but his clothes and pistol. If he had to assassinate an Imperial General, let alone the leader of the Imperial Onyx Squad, he'd need to get information the old way. Through the smugglers and thugs. In order to disguise his identity, he took up the nickname of _Loner_.

---

The streets of Coruscant were more crowded than usual, mainly due to the increased Imperial activity on the planet. With his new personality, and name, Kale had no problem making his way past the Imperial checkpoints.

He entered a small alley way, out of sight from the crowd of people. Putting down his backpack, he opened it and pulled out a rope. In order to get to the top of the Imperial Intelligence building, he had to climb. Climbing up the wall, he managed to take a glance through all of the windows.

On the twentieth floor, he looked through the windows and noticed General Nen'the speaking to some other officers. He climbed one floor up, and cut through the ventilation grating, gaining access to the building.

He began climbing throughout the ventilation system, right above his target. He noticed a small grating, allowing him to peek into the conference room. He noticed Nen'the sitting with Grand Moff Tarkin, and several other officers.

"I'm just saying, it'd be easier if the Death Star wasn't so unprotected. Honestly, i think we should just send a strike team and eliminate the rebels while we can. How hard can it be, anyways?" Nen'the asked as he leaned forward, placing his arms on the table.

Tarkin shook his head, "I can't even begin to explain how wrong you are. Lord Vader has already captured the Princess of Alderaan, and will be taking her to the Death Star soon. I'll have to be there to _greet_ her. This meeting is over, General"

All the officers except Nen'the got up and left the room. He had the chance of warning the Rebel alliance of the capture of the Princess, but he was so close to being able to stop Nen'the. If he killed him now, he wouldn't have the chance to interrogate him. But if he waited, his father would likely get killed.

Kale sighed and planted the charge inside the ventilation tunnel, and began crawling backwards as the timer ticked. As the timer ticked, Kale could feel a sudden headache. He closed his eyes as flashes of a woman in white clothing, being brought out of a ship, appeared infront of him.

He knocked out the visions and continued backwards, just barely making it out as the charge detonated, sending a ball of fire hurling towards him. He flew out of the tunnel, and managed to grab the rope attached to the wall. He could hear the windows being blown out, and the floor collapsing.


	3. The Origin Projector

Opening his eyes, Kale was blinded by a sort of light. When the light faded, he was able to make out a huge circular machine in the middle of the room. He looked over his shoulder, noticing that the Imperial stormtroopers were trying to cut open the door. Everything was blurry, but he began running towards the device.

As he got closer, he knew what he had to do. He looked back as he heard an explosion, and saw that the stormtroopers, with a burnt Nen'the in charge, had broken through the door. Kale smiled as he punched a few keys on the device, causing it to emit a red light. He felt a burning pain as fire consumed him.

---

"Dreaming again, Loner?" A voice to his left asked. He looked around and noticed a man with a rough beard looking at him, "You seemed rather happy with what you were dreaming"

Kale shook his head, "I've been having these dreams. But each time i have them, they turn out to be true. Anyways, why did you want to meet me here?"

The man reached into his pocket, and took a hologram projector out. He clicked the activator, and a hologram of the device from his dream appeared.

"This is the Origin Projector. We don't know what it's purpose is, only that it's capable of killing. We need you to find out what it does, and where it is"

Nodding, Kale took the holo-projector and looked at it, "That's all?"

The man simply got up and walked away from the bench without a word. Kale could feel he wasn't told everything, but he had nothing to lose now. Jored was safe, Terrel was underground, and the Rebel alliance was working on a plan to destroy the death star.

---

Back on Naboo, Terrel's terminal began beeping. He approached it, and noticed it had an incoming transmission from an unknown party.

_Incoming Transmission from: Classified_

_Officer Terrel, on behalf of the Emperor, i congratulate you. Your application was accepted._

_You are to begin immediatly. We're aware of a certain device being kept hidden inside the palace._

_According to our sources, it has been codenamed the Origin Projector, and is highly classified._

_Infact, it's so classified that even the Emperor has no knowledge of it. Let none be aware of your work. Remember; You are the Agent of Justice. Your word is truth, and your promises are golden._

_- Intelligence Officer Reth Kuren_

_Imperial Office of Intelligence_

Sighing, he picked up the comm-link from the top of the terminal, "Contact HQ, i think we have a mole"

---

Meanwhile, Kale had just stepped out of the shuttle when he spotted a squad of Imperials asking around. He only just managed to duck behind the other passengers as the squad leader turned around to face the shuttle. Coordinating his movements, Kale was able to sneak past the squad and into the backroom of the shuttleport.

If the Empire was searching all incoming shuttles, they must have tracked down where the assassination came from. That meant the Rebel Alliance's intelligence on Naboo would have been compromised, but by who? Who could possibly know about Kale's return to Naboo?

He left the room through a secret backdoor all the agents used when in emergency. It lead to a small basement area underneath the palace. It was the only place he knew he'd be safe for now. Just as he stepped through the backdoor, his datapad beeped.

_Incoming Transmission from: Jored Lorell_

_Intelligence compromised. Mole uncovered. Code Womprat._

Despite the short words, Kale knew what this meant. He was now sure that the intelligence office had been compromised, and most of the agents either killed or arrested. The main thing he should do now, was seek out the planets Sleeper Agent, which in Naboo's case was Jored Lorell and Terrel.

He made his way to the basement area, and turned on his flashlight as he looked around the room. It was flooded, and the water reached his knees. It was too muddy for him to see anything below the surface, so he'd have to hope he didn't step into a hole. He turned around as he heard a splash coming from one of the side tunnels.

"Hello?" he asked as he approached it, turning his flashlight down the corridor. He didn't expect to see anyone, but he did. In the other end of the corridor, a man wearing a coat was waving at Kale, approaching him.

"I'm glad you made it out alive, Kale" Terrel smiled as he stepped into the main room of the basement.

He took Kale's flashlight and turned it down towards the other end of the room, "There's a door there leading to a hidden imperial installation. Apparently, that's where the Origin Projector is located"

Kale turned around and put on his coat, "All right. I better go do this alone then". He reached under his jacket, removing something from one of the pockets. He then heard a light flick behind him.

"Sorry, Kale-", Terrel didn't manage to say anymore, as the second he grabbed his pistol, Kale turned around and shot Terrel in the stomach.

He fell down and into the water, barely managing to keep his head above the surface.

"How did you know...?" he asked and looked at the burnt clothing.

Kale simply smiled, "The mission was classified to me and my contact. There's no way you could possibly have heard about it, except from the Empire. Plus Womprat is your callsign, and i received a transmission with it". He turned around and began walking away, leaving Terrel to die of his wound.

Instead of using a traditional hacking method, Kale punched the panel, causing the door to malfunction and set off an alarm in the facility. He calmly made his way up the steel corridor, past a heatscanner and a turret. The facility seemed, to his surprise, empty. It was all automated for some reason.

He looked to his right, and noticed a door with a caution notice on it. He broke off the panel and began fiddling around with the wires, forcing the door to open. He lifted an eyebrow as he spotted the Origin Projector. However, he didn't have time to inspect it further, as he barely dodged a laser shot from behind him.

He hurried inside the room, and closed the door as he made his way towards the project, exactly like in his dream. As he approached the projector, the Imperials began cutting through the door. He entered the password he remembered from his dream, and turned around as the door broke down.

"You're making a huge mistake by activating it, Kale" Nen'the said as he walked through the door. He was, however, too late as fire erupted from the device. Kale closed his eyes as he slowly lost all control over his body and felt as if he fell through an endless pit. Then, everything blacked out...

---

He moaned as he opened his eyes, looking around the area. He hadn't moved an inch, he could feel that much. But something had happened. He took a closer look, and noticed he was on the floor of the throne room in the palace. As he got up, he looked out the window and saw a Theed very different from the one he had lived in.

The Imperial troops were nowhere to be found, merchants were trading freely, and the queen was taking a walk through the palace gardens. As he started to realise what had happened, he ran over to the nearest terminal in order to confirm it...


	4. The Origin Projector, Part II

As the sun was slowly setting, Kale was trying to find out what happened. In one way or another, he had travelled back in time. From what he could see, he had travelled about thirty five years back in time, to before he was born. After a while, he noticed a small cafe on the corner of a street he recognized. The sign read _Cafe Lorell_. His great grandfather had owned it, but it was destroyed shortly before his grandfather returned to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.

He walked in, and took a quick glance around. He could recognize the facial structure of several of the patrons, and then he notice a very familiar one; _Neran Terrel_. If anyone could help him back, it would be him. He didn't look much younger, and he probably wasn't even working for the Empire as they didn't exist yet.

As he approached Neran's table, he noticed another person sitting with him. The future General Nen'the. As he passed the table, he could catch a glimpse of what they were talking about. The schematics of the Origin Projector.

As he sat down at a nearby table, he came to remember the amulet he had received on his fifth birthday. He took it a pocket on the inside of his coat, and began flicking it between his fingers.

"_At the gap of time_ clearly means now. The game doesn't seem lost yet, however" he thought to himself as he pondered over what to do. The gap of time could mean one of two things. Either the Origin Projector, or the moments before.

He looked up as Nen'the stood up, and walked away from the table. This was his chance to ask Neran. He walked up to the table, and sat down.

"You don't know me yet, but you will soon enough" Kale noticed Neran still had his eyes towards the table, "Terrel?" he asked and looked.

Neran smiled as he looked up, "Actually i do know you. You're Kale Lorell, son of Jored Lorell, and grandson of Master Jored the First", he reached forth and took the amulet from Kale's hand, "I give you this on your fifth birthday, and you'll only reply with a thanks".

"How do you know all that?!"

He simply grinned, "In a few years, you'll realise there's no way for you to get back except stopping yourself. At that point, it's too late, i presume. This has happened once before, and you told me you'd try and stop the Origin Projector from being constructed. That was, in fact, last month"

Kale nodded and raised an eyebrow. According to Neran, he had been back in time once before, in order to try and stop the Origin Projector. Apparently, he had failed.

"I'm presuming you were either caught or killed by the Empire, seeing as you're here again. If you can stop yourself from accepting my sons offer, you'll fix this issue. If that fails, you could try and halt the construction of the Origin Projector by destroying the labaratory"

The two sat for hours, trying to figure out a plan to stop Nen'the from constructing the Origin Projector. It's not like they had to hurry, as they had thirty five years to figure it out...


	5. Realisation

Two days had passed since Kale had arrived in the past. He had been watching his family all the time, though making sure to stay away from them. Even if he was never able to return to his present, he could at least try and stop himself from getting there. As he took a stroll down the mainstreet, past the palace, he noticed something suspecious.

A container was being brought in with an armed guard. As it got closer, he realised it was in fact the Origin Projector. A thirty three years before it was used by him, it was already near him. So close, but unable to reach it due to the guard. He watched as Nen'the approached the container and opened it. However, what he didn't expect was what happened next. Nen'the reached out and punched in the password he had used thirty three years into the future.

Kale pushed aside the crowd and pursued Nen'the, disarming the guard in the way. As he hit the keys, he could hear more guards arriving. Just as he finished, he turned around and faced a whole battalion. The device emitted a red light, and the burning pain returned.

---

This time the feeling was different. He wasn't falling, he felt he was being carried away, almost dragged. As he regained vision, he noticed he was on the floor infront of the device. Everything was just as it had been when he left. Except, the room had changed. And he could hear a buzzing above the room, as if someone was charging a machine.

As he got on his feet, he noticed the door was already open, and was leading into what seemed like a part of a space station. As he got closer to a window , he realised it was infact the Death Star. In some odd manner, Nen'the must have moved the device to the Death Star in order to protect it.

Looking closer, he noticed the planet the space station was closing in on was Yavin IV. He turned around, and ran towards the closest turbolift. The troops, too busy with manning turrets for some reason, ignored him. The turbolift took him to Hangar bay B7. He took a quick glance around, and noticed a single shuttle. It was simply too easy.

He made his way towards the shuttle, but was stopped when an Imperial officer stepped out of it.

"I knew i should just have killed you thirty years ago when i first saw you", Nen'the stated and raised his blaster rifle, "I'll give you a chance to turn yourself over to the Empire"

Kale couldn't help but laugh, "Sorry, General, but i think i have to turn down that offer". He began running towards Nen'the, drawing his pistol and firing as he approached him.

The Imperial General returned fire, missing Kale every single time. He ran back into the shuttle and closed the ramp, just as Kale grabbed it and pulled himself onboard.

"It ends here, Kale" he said and raised his pistol, taking aim. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, both him and Kale were blinded by a bright flash.

---

He could hear a couple of stormtroopers coughing, along with Nen'the moaning as he opened his eyes. He was back in the original Origin Projector chamber on Naboo. Neither Kale nor Nen'the belonged in that timeline, making it impossible for each to kill one another. Time had simply gone back to the last timeline, the real one.

Kale rubbed his head as he got up, looking at the spot the Projector had sat in. It was gone. Burnt up by the pressure of time travel. On the ground infront of him, the wounded General was regained conciousness. Realising that without the Origin Projector, Nen'the was harmless, Kale left him to suffer.

As he exited the building, a light breeze caused his hair to sway abit. Not more than two hours had passed, so he still had time to join with the Rebellion on Yavin IV. As he stepped into Officer Terrel's ship, he took a last look at the palace, knowing he probably wouldn't return to see it again.


End file.
